Tissue dispenser and disposal



Dec. 7, 1965 M. E. HORN TISSUE DISPENSER AND DISPOSAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 19, 1963 N mR N O WH E m T R A M \fd ATTORNET'5 Dec. 7, 1965 M. E. HORN TISSUE DISPENSER AND DISPOSAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 19, 196-3 INVENTOR.

MARTIN E. HORN ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,221,928 Patented Dec. 7, 1965 3,221,928 TISSUE DISPENSER AND DISPOSAL Martin E. Horn, Norton Bldg., Seattle, Wash. Filed Mar. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 266,318 Claims. (Cl. 22134) The present invention relates to an improved dispenser for facial tissue making provision for convenient disposal of waste tissues as well as storage for fresh tissues.

Important objects of the invention are to provide a combination dispenser and disposal unit for facial tissues which is adapted to be inexpensively fabricated as from paper board, which is easy to use both with respect to its dispensing oflice and its provision for storage of the waste tissues, and which is so compact before use as to consume substantially no more space than a conventional facial tissue dispenser devoid of provision for disposal of waste tissues.

Other more particular objects and advantages will, with the foregoing, appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the acompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the center of the first embodiment when assembled.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the center of the second embodiment after partial use and disposal of the tissues.

Referring to the first embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 it is seen that the dispenser comprises a rectangular box 10, with a false bottom 11 and an overfitting vertical-slide cover 12. It will be seen that the function of the false bottom is to divide the box into an upper dispensing chamber for holding fresh tissues and a lower disposal chamber for storing waste tissues. Fresh tissue is withdrawn from the dispensing chamber through a discharge opening 13 in the upper wall 12a of the cover while access to the disposal chamber is obtained through a waste opening 14 in the true bottom wall a of the box.

The corners of the box are made in any suitable manner, such for example as by using corner tabs 10b bent at right angles to the end walls 100 of the box and bonded to the overlapping portions of the side walls 10d. In like manner the cover 12 may have corner tabs 1211 extending from end walls 12c and secured to side walls 12d. Preferably, the cover and box have the same height.

In accordance with the present invention, opposite walls of the box have horizontally spaced vertical slots extending the major part of the box height. A pair of slots 16-16 is shown in each of the side walls 10d for purposes of example. Projecting inwardly through these slots are respective locking tongues 17 struck from the side walls 12d of the cover near the bottom edge thereof and hinged on vertical fold lines. These tongues 17 are preferably longer, horizontally speaking, than the width of the slots 14 so that the tongues cannot be accidently released from the slots unless the respective side wall of the cover is forcibly warped outward relative to the underlying side wall of the box.

It will be noted that widthwise the false bottom 11 is purposely slightly oversize relative to the box width and that the excess is utilized in longitudinal side flanges 11a which are bent downwardly to form obtuse dihedral angles with the rest of the false bottom. These flanges 11a spring outwardly against the side walls 10d of the box to make a snug slide fit therewith and seal the disposal chamber from the dispensing chamber.

As is common with dispensing openings in the paper board art, the discharge and stulfing openings 13-14 may be closed before initial use by punchouts 13a14a defined by perforated tear lines 13b-14b. The discharge opening may be relatively wide as shown if the tissues are to be independently stacked (i.e. no interfit between tissues), or can be narrow as is well known if the tissues are packed with an interfit such that the withdrawal of each tissue partially withdraws the next.

During the box loading operation the tissues are firmly compressed against the false bottom 11 which is forced against the true bottom 10a. This compressed condition is maintained during storage by holding the cover com-' pletely down as with adhesive strips 18 securing the side walls 12a to the bottom of the box. At this time the tongues 15 are at the bottom of the slots 14.

When the dispenser is first put into use the punchouts 13a and 14a are manually detached and discarded, and the strips 18 are severed. The compressed tissues expand upon release of the cover by severance of the strips 18 and cause the cover 12 to raise relative to the box 10. During this action the tongues 17 responsively ride upwardly in the slots. When the user wishes to dispose of a tissue after use thereof, he then need only stuff it through the waste opening 14 in the bottom of the box. As the waste tissue is accumulated in the waste chamber beneath the false bottom 11 the latter is gradually pushed up accordingly. At all times the tongues 17, by engagement with the side walls of the box at the upper ends of the slots 16, prevent the cover 12 from being pushed or otherwise separated from the box.

In the second embodiment of my invention the aforedescribed unit is turned upside down, the discharge and waste openings are correspondingly reversed, and the false bottom is made an integral closure for the box. Thus, the modified box, denoted 10', is integrally enclosed both top 10'a and bottom 11' as well as on the sides llid and ends 10'c, and is free to vertically slide within a bottom cover 12', the amount of vertical relative movement being controlled as before by action of inwardly struck tongues 17' working in slots 16. The sides, ends, and bottom of the modified cover 12' are designated 12'd, 12'c, and 12'a, respectively, and the discharge and waste openings are denoted 13 and 14.

l/Vith this modified arrangement the box 10' comes to the user completely vested in the bottom cover 12' and with a punchout section 13a for making the discharge opening 13'. The user dispenses tissues from the box and may stuff the Waste tissues through the bottom waste opening 14 as before. These waste tissues occupy the chamber defined by the bottom wall 11' of the box together with the bottom 12'd of the bottom cover 12' and the portions of the latters end and side walls 12's and 12'd lying below the level of the bottom wall 11. The height, and hence the size of this waste chamber is increased as needed by upward movement of the box 10' relative to the bottom cover 12'. During this upward movement the tongues 17' ride in the slots 16' and prevent the box and bottom cover from being accidently sepa rated from one another. However, if it is desired to empty the waste chamber before all of the fresh tissues are consumed, the user may outwardly warp the side walls 12d of the bottom cover sufficiently to remove the tongues 17' from the slots 16' whereupon the box is free to be lifted completely out of the bottom cover. After emptying the bottom cover of the waste tissues the unit can then be easily reassembled.

It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description.

Changes in the details of construction will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore it is my invention that no limitations be emplied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a box with a horizontal wall joined to upright walls, a cover having a horizontal wall spaced vertically relative to said horizontal Wall of the box and having upright walls overlapping said upright walls of the box, discharge and waste openings, one in one of said horizontal walls and the other in the other of said horizontal walls, closed-end vertical slots in said upright walls of the box, and tongues struck inwardly from said upright Walls of the cover and extending through respective of said slots, said box and cover being movable vertically relative to one another through the range of travel of said tongues in said slots.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said tongues are hinged about vertical fold lines and have a horizontal length exceeding the Width of said slots.

3. In combination, a box with a rectangular horizontal wall joined to a pair of rectangular end walls and a pair of rectangular side walls, a cover having a rectangular horizontal wall spaced vertically from said horizontal wall of said box and having respective pairs of side and end walls overlapping said side and end walls of the box, discharge and Waste openings, one in one of said horizontal walls and the other in the other of said horizontal walls, a pair of horizontally spaced vertical closed-end slots in each of said side walls of the box, and a pair of tongues struck inwardly from each said side wall of the cover and extending through said pair of slots in the respective side wall of the box, said box and cover being movable vertically relative to one another through the range of travel of said tongues in said slots.

4. In combination, a box with a horizontal bottom wall joined to upright walls, a cover having a horizontal top Wall spaced vertically relative to said horizontal wall of the box and having upright walls overlapping said upright walls of the box, a discharge opening in said top wall and a waste opening in said bottom wall, a vertically movable false bottom in said box above said bottom Wall defining with the latter a waste chamber, closed-end vertical slots in said upright walls of the box, and tengues struck inwardly from said upright walls of the cover and extending through respective of said slots, said box and cover being movable vertically relative to one another through the range of travel of said tongues in said slots.

5. In combination, a box with horizontal top and bottom walls joined to upright walls, a bottom cover having a bottom Wall beneath said bottom Wall of the box and having upright walls overlapping said upright walls, a discharge opening in said top wall, a waste opening in said bottom wall of the cover, closed-end vertical slots in said upright walls of the box, and tongues struck inwardly from said upright walls of the cover and extending through respective of said slots, said box and cover being movable vertically relative to one another through the range of travel of said tongues in said slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,904,777 4/ 1933 Brzezicki 22l-34 2,841,275 7/ 1958 Schwimmer. 3,105,592 10/1963 Cohen 221 FOREIGN PATENTS 464,373 4/ 1933 Great Britain.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A BOX WITH A HORIZONTAL WALL JOINED TO UPRIGHT WALLS, A COVER HAVING A HORIZONTAL WALL JOINED VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO SAID HORIZONTAL WALL OF THE BOX AND HAVING UPRIGHT WALLS OVERLAPPING SAID UPRIGHT WALLS OF THE BOX, DISCHARGE AND WASTE OPENINGS, ONE IN ONE OF SAID HORIZONTAL WALLS AND THE OTHER IN THE OTHER OF SAID HORIZONTAL WALLS, CLOSED-END VERTICAL CLOTS IN SAID UPRIGHT WALLS OF THE BOX, AND TONGUES STRUCK INWARDLY FROM SAID UPRIGHT WALLS OF THE COVER AND EXTENDING THROUGH RESPECTIVE OF SAID SLOTS, SAID BOX AND COVER BEING MOVABLE VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER THROUGH THE RANGE OF TRAVEL OF SAID TONGUES IN SAID SLOTS. 